Time Out Of Mind
by autumnrose2010
Summary: An inexplicable accident on the holodeck leaves Commander William T. Riker stranded far from home. Will he ever see his friends and loved ones again?
1. A Freak Accident

Commander William T. Riker found himself behind the wheel of a twentieth-century automobile that was parked in front of a large, white two-story house. He didn't remember how he'd gotten there. All her remembered was programming the holodeck for an 'earth, twentieth century' program. He had no idea where he was or what he was doing there.

Curious, he got out of the car, walked to the front door, and rang the doorbell. The door swung open almost immediately, and before him stood a slender young woman with shoulder-length, mousy auburn hair and friendly hazel eyes.

"Ashley! You've come back for me!" she exclaimed happily.

Will frowned. _Ashley? _He decided that it would probably be best to simply play along, at least for now. "Of course I did," he said, wondering how he'd learn the young woman's identity. He didn't have to wonder for very long.

"Erin! Who is it?" called a feminine voice from inside the house.

"It's Ashley Longworth Jr., Mom! He's come back!" Erin replied. A moment later, a tired-looking, middle-aged woman with limp dark blonde hair appeared. She smiled at Will.

"Welcome back to Walton's Mountain," she said.

"Thanks, ma'am." He gave her his typical charming smile. "It's good to be back."

"Won't you come in?" asked the woman. "We were just about to have supper. There's plenty enough for an extra person."

Will had the distinctly uneasy feeling that his companions were acting unusually realistic for holodeck characters. He shrugged, imagining that it must be an uncharacteristically good program.

Putting his misgivings aside for the time being, he followed the two women to the table, where he saw a burly middle-aged man with dark hair and bright blue eyes, several younger men, all with red hair, and a teenage girl with long red hair.

"Look who's back, everybody!" the middle-aged woman announced.

"Ashley!" The older man's well-worn face creased into a friendly smile. "Welcome back!"

"Thank you, sir." Will took his place at the table with them and waited to be served.

* * *

><p>Deanna Troi knew that the man standing before her was not her <em>I<em>_mzadi, _William T. Riker. Although he looked identical to Will, the _Imzadi _connection wasn't there at all. His mind was a total blank to her.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ashley Longworth, Jr." Puzzled, Ashley looked around. "What _is _this place?"

"You're aboard the star ship the _U.S.S. Enterprise," _Deanna told him.

_"Star _ship?" Ashley sounded amazed. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Counselor Deanna Troi," Deanna told him. "How did you get here?"

"I have no idea," Ashley replied. "One minute I was on my way to visit Erin Walton, and the next thing I knew, I was here."

Deanna remembered that Will had told her that he was going to play on the holodeck. She wondered whether that had anything to do with Ashley's sudden appearance aboard the _Enterprise. _She could sense the young man's strong apprehension and longed to ease his mind.

"Please don't despair," she told him. "I'm sure we'll be able to get you back to where you belong soon."


	2. Something To Do With The Holodeck

Will enjoyed the food that was served to him very much. He could tell that it was the real thing, not something that had been simulated by a replicator. He hadn't had real food in a very long time, and he ate ravenously.

"I see you like my cooking." The middle aged woman smiled. "Would you like a second helping?"

"Oh, yes ma'am!" Will replied enthusiastically.

The woman patted his shoulder affectionately, which gave him goose bumps. These people were behaving completely differently from any holodeck characters he'd ever encountered. Could they indeed be real people, after all? If they were, he'd obviously traveled quite far back in time. Was there any way he could get back to the twenty-fourth century _Enterprise?_

"So are you gonna take me for a ride after supper, Ashley?" Erin asked hopefully.

Will shrugged. "Sure, if that's what you want."

Erin looked at him closely. "Are you all right?"

"Sure," he told her. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Something about you just seems different, that's all."

After supper he and Erin walked out to the car. "Where do you want to go?" he asked her.

"How about down by the river?" she suggested.

"Um, I'm not quite sure I remember how to get there."

Erin frowned. "Are you _sure _you're all right?"

She gave him directions to the river, and he parked the car and they got out and began to walk along the bank. Erin took his hand, and he didn't object.

They came to a tree, and Erin led him underneath it. "Kiss me, Ashley," she urged.

The setting sun bathed the area in various shades of pink and purple, lending a romantic atmosphere to the outing. Will looked down at Erin and concluded that he didn't find her particularly attractive. She was too thin, her chest too flat, her nose too pointed. Even so, he obligingly pressed his lips against hers, wondering what Deanna would think of his kissing a holodeck figure who was so very realistic.

* * *

><p>"We need to go to Captain Picard and explain what happened," Deanna said to Ashley. "Perhaps he can find a way to transfer you back to your own place and time."<p>

"What do you mean, my own time?" Ashley was beginning to panic. "You mean this isn't 1943?"

Deanna shook her head. "It's 2368."

"My God," Ashley said softly. "I've somehow traveled more than four hundred years into the future, then."

"Yes," Deanna replied. "Let's go see if the captain is busy right now."

Jean-Luc was holding Beverly's hands and gazing lovingly into her eyes. He looked up as Deanna and Ashley approached.

"Why are you dressed as a twentieth century military officer, Number One?" he asked.

"This isn't Commander Riker," Deanna explained. "This is a man named Ashley Longworth, Jr., and he thinks it's 1943. I told him you could help him get back to his own place and time."

Jean-Luc frowned, annoyed at having had his romantic interlude interrupted. "How did he get here in the first place?"

"It must have had something to do with the holodeck," said Deanna. "Will had gone to play on it only a short time before Ashley showed up."

"I've warned him about messing around with those holodeck programs before," Jean-Luc grumbled. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."

"Don't look so glum," Deanna said to Ashley as they walked away. "Jean-Luc will come through for us. He always does."

"Say, could you show me around this star ship?" asked Ashley. "I've never seen anything remotely like it before. I find it absolutely amazing."

"Of course," Deanna replied. "I'd be delighted to."

The first place she took him to was engineering, where she introduced him to Data and Geordi. "Why does one guy have yellow skin and the other wear that funny thing around his head?" Ashley asked afterwards.

"Geordie's blind," Deanna explained. "He needs his visor to see. Data's an android."

"What in the world is that?" asked Ashley.

"An artificial man," Deanna said patiently.

"God, I wish I'd never asked." Ashley rolled his eyes.

Next was Worf. "Say, why does that fellow's forehead look so funny?" asked Ashley.

"He's a Klingon," Deanna replied.

"A _what?"_

"A Klingon. He's from the planet that bears that name."

Last but not least, she introduced him to Ensign Wesley Crusher. _At last! Someone who looks completely normal, _Ashley said to himself. _I was beginning to wonder if **I **was the freak around here._


End file.
